Shostakovich's mighty "War" symphony, the Symphony No. 7, was composed in 1939-1940, originally dedicated o the life and deeds of Vladimir Lenin, but in 1941 changed he dedication to the city of Leningrad. It requires a huge orchestra and there have been many recordings. This site has mentioned Mariss Jansons and the Royal Concertgebouw (REVIEW), Valery Gergiev and the Rotterdam Philharmonic (REVIEW),Grgiev with the Mariinsky Orchestra (REVIEW), and Dmitri Yablonsky with the Russian State Symphony (REVIEW). And there are numerous memorablehistoric performances including those by Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski, Vassily Petrenko, Bernard Haitink and Yvgeny Mravinsky, to mention only a few. Pentatone is recording all of the symphonies with the Russian National Orchestra and thus far has issued Nos. . 11 and 15 with Mikhail Pletnev, Nos. 5 and 9 with Yakov Kreizberg, Nos. 1 and 6 with Vladimir Jurowski, and No. 8 with Paavo Berglund. This new recording with Paavo Järvi and the same orchestra has keen competition, but it holds up well. Järvi is a dynamic conductor, and the recording, made in the Great Hall of the Moscow Con Conservatory in February 2014, is an example of the label's best audio, not particularly "surround," but super-clear and impactfu—surely one of the finest recordings available of this symphony.. a